What impact do you have on the world?
An old saying goes, “Whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved an entire world.”
Each individual life is a world onto itself with infinite possibilities. Not to mention the ripple effect, as that person could go on to great things for other individuals and humanity as a whole.
I think that’s one of the key reasons why I teach. There’s no better work than helping others live their best lives, and there is no doubt that many of my students go on to do great things in the world.
Decades from now, I am confident that while my own children may well be lying on the shrink’s couch enumerating the multiple ways in which I’ve made them neurotic, that many of my students, wherever they may be in the world, will gratefully remember something they learned from me and smile.
But I was reminded the other day about our power to affect others in significant ways, even when we least suspect it.
I’ve been making the two-hour drive between Los Angeles and Palm Desert for many years. A creature of habit, I usually stop at the same Starbucks, exactly at the half-way point. Last week, a nice young man handed me my half-caf Americano and said, “You’ve been here before, haven’t you, sir?” I told him that indeed, I had been there many times. Then he boggled my mind.
“There was a time when you came in 2018. You ordered a macchiato but had them remake it three times.”
Uh oh! I remembered making a minor scene that day. And so did he!
The problem stemmed from the fact that a true macchiato – espresso with a dollop of foam – is not what Starbucks sells as a macchiato. When you say “macchiato” to a Starbucks employee, they immediately think of the flavored, cold, specialty drinks the chain offers. It’s how they are trained and not that their fault. Understanding this from past experience, I slowly and carefully explained exactly what I wanted. “A classic macchiato. Two shots of hot espresso with a little foam but not the milk.”
Still, this was too much for the two different employees, who presented me with large, iced, flavored drinks twice before the manager stepped in. This guy who remembered me? He was that manager.
“Ah, you remember all the horrible customers who come through here,” I said. “No, not at all,” he replied.
He explained to me the just after that incident, six years ago, he went to Europe for the first time. He told me that when he was in France, he discovered that the French drink coffee differently than we do. “People prefer espresso to big cups of coffee. Even their lattes are half the size.”
He went on to tell me how grateful he was to me. Despite working at Starbucks, my explanation of a “real” macchiato seemed to be the first time he even considered that people outside of America might have different preferences for coffee. And lot of other things. “I thought about you every time I had a coffee when I was in France.”
We have more power than we think. Each of us is capable of changing the world for the better with each human interaction.
I wasn’t angry or unruly that day in 2018. No fits were thrown. I was frustrated, but patient, and took the time to explain, nicely, what it was I wanted. And for at least one young man, that was a learning experience he still remembers.
As one very difficult, divisive year ends and another, that promises to me much more challenging, looms on the horizon, keep in mind that our actions have consequences. You will be remembered, not just by the people you are close to, but even those you’ve completely forgotten about.
We are all more powerful than we think we are. We leave a long trail of human interactions. Even those moments that we perceive to be inconsequential can leave lasting memories. And every day provides a fresh start and new opportunities to make a positive impact.
